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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Heartbeat! (Week 14)

we got to hear our baby's heartbeat today!

The whole family went out to breakfast then had our first visit with our Midwife. I can't believe that 2 years have passed since we first met Kathy! I like going to her house and not a clinic, and I feel that the care is so personalized. We talked today about the medication I take and ways I can help the baby NOT grow so big! J2 was 9lb 12oz and while I didn't have gestational diabetes or anything, Kathy gave me a list of foods to be careful about--dairy (not a problem since we're vegan!), refined carbs (white flour, white pasta, sugar, etc), and several kids of fruit and veggies.

After answering some questions and talking about how I felt and the symptoms I've experienced during this pregnancy, Kathy used her handy-dandy chart to see approximately when Baby 3 is due: May 17, 2011. That is 41 weeks because both of my boys were born between 41 and 42 weeks, and that means I'm 14 weeks along right now. So exciting!

whattoexpect.com

Then Kathy whipped out her fetal doppler device and while Daddy listened and big brothers watched with big eyes and big ears, we heard the shoo shoo shoo of the baby's heart! It was at 140 today. I even recorded it on my cell phone to text to my Mom & a couple close friends!

J had lots of questions afterward! He is very curious about 'our brand new baby'. He asked over and over what he looked like, so tonight I showed him images on the computer. J also wanted to feel the baby moving in my tummy, but I told him he'll have to wait awhile before he can feel that. We pulled out J's baby book to look at his ultrasound images and how he looked when he was a newborn. It might help him know what to expect when the new baby is born, but he couldn't quite grasp that that baby in the pictures was him!

I am doing well. My 'morning sickness' which is actually in the afternoon and evening for me, cleared up about a month ago and I have a lot more energy now. I am starting to have to use a rubberband to do up my pants and am wearing some maternity shirts because they are longer. It's getting uncomfortable to sleep on my tummy too. I feel so much less apprehensive about this pregnancy and delivery! It's nice to know what to expect and to be completely happy with our caregiver! Kathy reassured me that 2nd deliveries (remember my 1st baby was a c-section, my 2nd baby was my first natural birth) are usually about half as long and much easier than the first. Kathy lives an hour away from us, so she urged us to call her as soon as labor starts!

My one small complaint is that our insurance does not cover nurse-midwives, even though she is licensed and legal in our state. We don't mind having to pay out-of-pocket to be able to have the kind of birth experience we want, but we won't be having an ultrasound. I'll miss seeing those black & white images, and baby's gender will be a surprise!

Inspiration

I love to see changes in ugly things--whether it's new grass after the brown of winter, a free beat-up dresser that becomes a beauty after a few coats of paint, or a life once in shambles that's worth living again. One of my favorite quotes in the Bible is Isaiah 61:3, specifically how God will "give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified." Now that's a life with meaning!